Hunt Group Forward to Call Routing Announcement (before recall)

[toadman667]

We'd like to be able to forward or redirect hunt group calls to a Call Routing Announcement application early on in the call (well before the recall timer is up), but only when a specific agent hast left their desk. I've tried to forward their SIP phone unconditionally in the Web Access control panel, but Hunt Groups seem to ignore forwards to applications. Obviously, they also ignore all system forwarding paths, so I'm at a loss as to how this might be accomplished.

Any ideas?

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

[acejavelin]

You can't forward a hunt group, period. But there are other ways to skin a cat so to speak...

Are the calls to the hunt group DID calls from a Call Routing Table? If so, set the answer point to that station, then build an System Forward Path to the Hunt Group and apply it to the station, put it first in the list and set it to Immediate and Call Routing Table only. Then the phone can forward the "hunt group" calls when the phone is forwarded, and when it is not the calls flow through the hunt group normally. Do this all the time for main numbers to let the receptionist forward calls.

[Tech Electronics]

Toadman667,

How many agents are in the Hunt Group, and why are we only concerned about the state of 1 in particular?

As Acejavelin has stated there is more than one way to do things within the system as long as you understand the logic it uses based on how the call flows are built.

Thanks,

TE

[toadman667]

acejavelin, that's brilliant! The only trouble is that the DID number call goes directly to a STAR, then a Call Routing Announcement, and then finally goes to the Hunt Group. However, we are not concerned about other calls to this phone being forwarded when the agent has left their desk, so I imagine it will work just as well if I enable the appropriate call type, correct?

Tech Electronics: The state of 1 agent in particular is just an arbitrary restriction. More realistically, we'd like to avoid routing calls to the hunt group at all and instead play a "no representatives available message" if no representatives are at their desks. There are currently only 2 members in the hunt group, and there may eventually be 1-3 members in the group total.

Using acejavelin's solution, I just thought of the following possibility: Have the CRA forward to Phone #1, which is configured with a DND system forwarding path of the appropriate type (CO transfer?) that forwards to Phone #2, with an identical system forwarding path that then forwards to our "no agents available" CRA.

To get calls to the hunt group when agents are available, each phone would also be setup with a subsequent Immediate and Busy forwarding path that goes to the hunt group. Agents would be instructed to set their phones to Do Not Disturb when leaving their desk. Do you imagine that would work?

My main concern is what would happen to users currently waiting in the Hunt Group if all agents go to DND.

Thank you all very much for your support.

[Tech Electronics]

toadman667,

Acejavelin's approach is a good one in certain scenarios and I must say that I have used it before, but not all that often.

As for your question at the end,

My main concern is what would happen to users currently waiting in the Hunt Group if all agents go to DND

They would immediately go to the Recall Destination since there are no agents available, but at what point in your scenario would the caller actually hit the Hunt Group; it wouldn't.

Also, keep in mind that a phone can only have 3 forwarding paths with 5 destinations per path and the second phones forwarding path would not come into play as it would follow Phone 1's forwarding path to its conclusion for that call type. I haven't played with that in years, but I believe that it still works the same as it did in the Axxess days.

Now, for my next question, what would your recall destination be? Voicemail to send it to a general mailbox?

If so then this would be my solution:
Put a DND button on all "agents" phones and when they leave they either log out or go into DND; I prefer the Logout Option myself if it is an ACD Hunt Group. Of course the Hunt Group Remove/Replace function works fine too for UCD Hunt Groups.

Set the Recall Destination to a CRA that plays a recording that says "no representatives available" and then drop into whatever mailbox you want them to leave a message in.

With this solution each person can still have their normal forwarding path to voicemail for their personal calls or DID calls and you really don't have to change much within the system as it will continue to go to the Hunt Group.

Thanks,

TE

[toadman667]

Good to know! Thank you for all of the valuable input. The final recall destination would just be the "agents unavailable" CRA, without any later destination.

I'm sorry I neglected to mention this earlier, but agents are using SIP softphones (Bria 4; just setup recently), and I'm beginning to fear that they're causing unique issues here.

When the softphones have been disconnected for an extended period of time or the phones are all set to DND, the caller is just told that the extension cannot be reached and the recall destination of the hunt group is ignored.

Additionally, if a caller is in the hunt group when all agents go DND, they are simply hung up on.

How can I avoid those behaviors?

[dwayneg]

What distribution model are you using for the agents (all-ring, linear, etc.)?  I might have an idea.

Also remember that hunt group calls don't follow agent's system forward path at all, so any paths you set up will only work for calls direct to the extension.

[toadman667]

We're currently using the Distributed search type, but if one is better for this situation than the other, then it's certainly possible for us to switch to it.

[Tech Electronics]

Toadman667,

Don't use the DND function have them use either the ACD login/out function if it is an ACD Hunt Group or the Hunt Group Remove/Replace function if it is a UCD Hunt Group. That will solve the issue of the system not knowing the state of the phones since we are telling it the phone is available or not available to take calls instead of letting it guess based on its virtual state.

Thanks,

TE

[toadman667]

Tech Electronics, thanks! That makes sense to me, but I'm not sure how to let the SIP softphones use Hunt Group Remove/Replace. As far as I understand, they don't support feature codes, except for a limited few for outgoing calls, conferences, etc. Have I just not configured them correctly?

[Tech Electronics]

Toadman667,

I have never worked with the softphone that you say you have, but in my experience there is always more than one way to skin a cat.

Try this first, find the feature code for hunt group remove/replace and try that on a normal idle phone that is in a hunt group. Then change it back with the same feature code.

Now go to the softphone and do the same thing. The problem is that some softphones do not have a hot dialpad functionality, actually most do not. So, go off-hook and dial the feature code, similar to an intercom call. If your phone doesn't have an off hook function then create a speed dial that uses a ! Followed by the feature code and try that. I can usually make a softphone do a lot of the features of a normally phone, but sometimes you just need to play with the logic of how it works until you get there.

Thanks,

TE

[toadman667]

Thanks, Tech Electronics! Try as I might, I cannot get the softphones to input feature codes. Off-hook, speed dial, or simply dialing are fail to make any difference.

Is there anything else that might be worth trying?